


Red Do Be Sus in More Ways Than One

by Anonymous



Category: Blue Beetle (Comics), Impulse (Comics), The Flash - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Among Us (Video Game) Setting, Alternate Universe - No Capes, Alternate Universe - No Powers, M/M, Some hurt/comfort, ambiguous ending, as a treat, emotional/psychological manipulation, major character deaths, some fluff moments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:09:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29659434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Bluepulse Among Us AU.(Names of the characters are next to the names of the characters in the tags)
Relationships: (Past) Bart Allen/Eduardo Dorado, Bart Allen/Jaime Reyes
Kudos: 7
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Chapter 1

Blue quietly sighed as he patched up the wires for what seemed like the third time today, the hundreds of panels constantly in repair because of how clumsy most of the crew was when it came to anything involving electricity, and he froze as a gloved hand brushed against his arm, making him startle before he turned around.

Red stood behind him, grinning too-wide in that classic Red way he did as the smaller crewmate practically trembled with excitement as he reached out for the wires as well, the both of them assigned a rare shared task.

"Heya, Blue."

Red said breathily, sounding like he had practically raced over, and Blue smiled behind his space helmet at his best friend, the beginnings of a blush taking root on his cheeks, but thankfully, the helmet hid his face. 

"Red! What're you doing here? Shared task, ¿hermano?"

"Yeah! Yah knaw it."

Red drawled in his Deep Southern accent, and Blue nodded towards his best friend, his breath hitching as Red's arms brushed against his as he tried to fix the rest of the wires around Blue's own hands.

Blue's cheeks only reddened further at the gentle quirks of Bart's hands, his face almost the color of Red's space suit, and he gently retracted his hands, immediately missing the warmth of Red's glove-covered fingers.

"Th-Thanks for helping me out, Bart. I really mean it. You're making the job go much faster than if I did it alone."

Blue stammered, using Red's real name for the first time in months, and he could practically feel Red soften, the smaller crewmate's body relaxing before he suddenly turned to him, something dark in his gaze.

"R-Red?"

"Yah alright? Blue, you're prahtic-ly burnin' up. Yah need some water? Medbay's right around the corner."

Blue breathed out a sigh of relief, and he shook his head, terrified that Red had caught onto his attraction for him.

"N-No, I'm fine, really. Just a little cold."

"Oh, alraght then. Here, Blue, I'll grab yah some–"

EMERGENCY ALERT! PLEASE ENTER THE CAFETERIA! EMERGENCY ALERT!

Blue startled, and he looked down at Red, the smaller crewmate already nudging him along.

"C'mahn, Blue! Mus' be important if we all have'ta get down to the caf."

Blue nodded, and he looked at the rest of the team as he and Red entered the cafeteria, the rest of their crew gathered around the center table where they all ate.

"What's wrong?"

Blue asked, and he felt Red relax beside him, the shorter crewmate already starting to joke around.

"What, Lahm get stuck in the 'chute again?"

Red teased, and Lime glared at him, making Blue chuckle as he patted the shorter crewmate's head, the barest hint of auburn curls bouncing through the tinted glass of Red's suit.

It made Blue's heart race and his eyes soften, suddenly reminded of how human and beautiful Red was.

Of course, Red could never know that.  
Blue would rather eject himself than have Red know.

"Quit it, Red. The reason that we're all gathered here is because the League sent out an alert that there is an imposter on this ship."

Brown announced, and hushed conversation filled the cafeteria before Green gently patted Brown's thin shoulder, her voice loud and clear.

"Now, that doesn't mean that there is an Imposter, but more than likely, there is one. Which is why everyone has been given the ability to call an emergency meeting. Report all suspicious activity and try to find the Imposter."

Everyone knew that Imposters were deranged crewmates that killed their crew before they hijacked the ships, disappearing far beyond the League's reach.

No one really knew what made Imposters turn, as no one had managed to get close to one and survive.

Some said that Imposters went mad due to being trapped in a small space for so long, others said that it was because they were parasites that snuck onto ships to feed on crewmates, but a few...a few claimed that Imposters weren't human. 

It terrified Blue to know that an other was here with them, watching them sleep, watching them eat and work.

It unnerved him. 

"I don't think there're any Impos-tars, guys. 'S probably just the League tryin' ta rile us up. We're fine, remember?"

Red broke the silence, and Blue sighed, turning to his best friend as they were dismissed.  
Blue knew, without a doubt, that Red would never hurt a fly, and therefore he wasn't the Imposter.

Blue didn't think that anyone was the Imposter, but he made a mental note to keep Red closer to him so that he could protect him.  
After all, Red was so thin, so breakable, weighing in about ten pounds underweight whenever he was scanned in Medbay. 

And even though Blue knew that Red wasn't really underweight, as genetics played a major role because all JAWs —The Jallenwest Company: Red's family, and most members of the League stemmed from them— were all thin little things, bred in order to fit inside of tight spaces to fix ships.

Or, which Blue found a lot less likely but still as truthful as the first, to hide in or access places the average crewmate would never know about.  
Like the vents, and where they went.

Blue assumed that the vents travelled all over the main rooms of the ship, but he knew that there was definitely more hidden places inside of the Skeld.

Places that only Red or even Brown could access.

"C'mon, Blue! We got some tasks ta do!"

Blue nodded to himself, letting Red lead him back to the wires in Electrical. 

Red was definitely not an Imposter; why would he being doing tasks then?

Blue smiled to himself, knowing that if Red wasn't an Imposter, he would be free to keep his little crush.

Blue finished his daily tasks with a new vigor, Red happily crowding around him, almost herding him protectively, and though he knew that Red was just trying to be a good friend, it made him want to cry with joy.

Even if Red didn't return his feelings, at least he had a good friend.


	2. Chapter Two

Blue's eyes snapped open as he sat straight up in bed, trembling as visions of long, deadly tentacles squeezing the life out of Red still circled his mind, killing his best friend with his own dangerous tendrils, and he felt calloused hands press against his face, Red's eerie yellow eyes gazing into his own.

"Blue! Blue, 's fine, 's 'kay!"

Blue shook a little, and he felt Red bury his face into Red's shoulder, the both of them not wearing their suits, as it was customary for crewmates to not wear their suits when they were sleeping. 

Blue buried his face into Red's worn tank top, whimpering quietly as the rest of the nightmare finally cycled through, and he realized that he was crying. 

"I know, I know. 'S 'kay now. Yah're safe with me, Jaime. No one 'ill ever hurt yah."

Blue sobbed a little harder at the mention of his real name and at Red's admission, knowing that anything that warranted the use of a real name was important. 

Red– Red telling him that he was okay, that he was safe, that he was protecting him made him feel so safe that nothing hurt and everything was beautiful. 

"There, there. 'S alright."

Rough hands petted his hair, and Blue sniffled, letting his best friend hold him tightly.

"Talk to me, bub. What happened?"

Blue whimpered, burying his face deeper into Red's neck as he recalled the nightmare, the image of Red's bare face contorted with fear as he killed his best friend.

"I– I had a dream where I was the Imposter, and that– that I killed you."

Blue blubbered, and Red tugged him in closer, squeezing him tightly.

"Ah told yah, Blue...there are no Imposters. An' I know that yah would never hurt anybody."  
Red soothed, and Blue shakily nodded, though he doubted Red's words.

He prayed that there wasn't any Imposters, but he doubted that they were safe. 

It was only a matter of time before the killing started. 

"Hey, Blue, yah can sleep in mah bed tonight, if yah want."

Blue quickly nodded, his cheeks brightening under the even stare of Red's strange yellow eyes, and he looked away, Red's eyes locked onto his cheeks. 

"Are yah...blushin'?"

"N-No. I'm just– I'm just tired."

"Well, alright. C'mon, Blue; I'll let yah be the little spoon; I can only sleep on mah side so that I don't dig into the bed."

Blue managed a weak smile at his friend's antics, and he crawled to Red's bed, his roommate eagerly snuggling in behind him and huffing happily.

"G'night, Blue. Don' worry; I'll–" Red yawned, nuzzling deeper into his neck, "–I'll keep yah nice an' safe."

And Blue couldn't help but believe him, melting into Red's arms.

[---]

Blue couldn't breathe, he was so happy.

It was like ever since the rumors of an Imposter had been announced, Red had been always just a foot away, crowding into his personal space even more and always pressing against him protectively, like he had taken his vow seriously. 

It made his heart melt whenever the small man bristled in front of the other crewmates, acting so strangely possessive that it made Blue constantly blush.

He felt safe and loved. 

It felt like Red was finally starting to feel for him, starting to return his affections. 

Blue had always doubted that Red loved him back, the small crewmate always worrying about his friends as a whole rather than anyone individually, but after that night, it was like Red had changed.

Hell, he'd even started flirting at him.

Like now.

"C'mahn, Blue. Lemme get a good look at those readin's."

"Red, you don't have a task here– oh."

Blue's cheeks instantly reddened as he realized that Red's helmet was tilted at a certain angle, and it made his heart skip a beat when he realized that he was staring at his ass. 

Blue knew that it wasn't necessarily because he wanted to fuck him, just because Red was strange and could easily find anything beautiful, but he had a hunch that it was because Blue had, as Red often teased at him, good child-bearing hips. 

Red did come from one of the biggest League families, the Jallenwest Family, and they produced the largest amount of crewmates ever noted to date.

Red teased that it was because they fucked like rabbits, and it had always made Blue laugh.

Now, though...now it just made his cheeks heat up.

"Yeah, well, I'd quit it. We– we have a task, and–"

Before Blue could blink, Red's hands shot out and grabbed his hips, and Blue startled, thinking that for a second, Red's hands were replaced by coiling tentacles as he turned around to face Red.

"Blue, forget th' task. I– I gottah tell yah somethin'."

Blue froze, Red's hands reaching up for his helmet.

No crewmate had ever taken their helmet off except for when they slept, and the fact that Red was doing this, right now, where any little thing could happen and they would be swept off into space terrified him.

But it also intrigued him. 

For the first time outside of eating meals, Blue was able to see Red's face, for once not shrouded in shadow from the darkness of their rooms during their artificial night, and Blue trembled in anticipation, reaching for his own helmet and taking it off with a soft click.

They stood in silence for a few seconds, gazing upon each other's faces in the artificial daylight for the first time, and it was like a flip had switched inside of Red, a sudden, animalistic madness coming over him.

And for some reason, Blue had never felt safer.  
One minute, Red was holding him, and in the next they were kissing, pressing into each other as much as they could through their space suits, Red's rough hands fisting his hair blindly as they licked into each other.

Blue was certain that normal kissing wasn't as messy as this, but then again, none of them had ever been kissed before, let alone engaged in kissing.

It made something dark rise up in him, and suddenly, he understood why Red kept looking at him like that.

He was hungry. 

Blue felt Red press him into the harsh metal wall, and he whimpered, reaching down for Red's own hair to tug him in closer.

"Red–"

Blue breathed, and he felt Red shake his head before they lips connected again, soft pants of pent-up desperation leaving their little circle.

"No– no, not– not Red. 'S Bart now, just Bart and Jaime, no codenames, please."

Blue feverishly nodded and let himself be swept away again, a surprisingly strong thigh pressing between his legs eagerly, trying to prompt him to roll down on it.

That snapped him out of it.

"Bart, we– we're in O2. We can't –hnn– we can't have sex here, someone'll see us and it'll be awkward forever."

Something in Red's eyes darkened, and it wasn't with hunger.

"Alright, Jaime. We– we can wait."

Red suddenly seemed distracted, and Blue reached up, grabbing his best friend's shoulders, and pulling away from him. 

"Bart, are you alright?"

Blue asked, petting Red's arms, and his yellow eyes met his, Red relaxing.

"Yeah, 'm fine. Jus' thought I...saw someone. It's fine though, Jaime. C'mon, let's hurry so tha' we can have more free time. Wanna take yah apart?"

Blue shuddered at the dark promise, and he let Red kiss him one last time before they put their helmets on again, pressing against each other as Blue finished up his task.

Now, they were simply Red and Blue, and would have to act as fellow crewmates until they were both in their room for tonight, in their bed, with Red's arms wrapped around him tightly as they —hopefully— started kissing again.

Now that Blue had felt Red's lips against his, he wanted more.

It scared him how much he wanted Red.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, though Red seemed on-edge. 

Blue didn't mind; he knew that Red thought about everything, but it made him ache whenever he realized that maybe Red had regretted kissing him.

But Red wouldn't do that, he was better than that.

Right?

Blue's fears had grown throughout the day until they were in bed, Red lying his head on Blue's chest and rubbing his belly, the both of them too tired to even make an attempt at "taking each other apart."

"Are you– are you mad, cariño?"

Blue murmured, and he felt Red freeze, the smaller crewmate looking up at him.

"Mad?"

"For kissing. You've been off since we– we made out."

Blue whispered, and he watched as Red turned towards him, petting his cheeks.

"Sweethart, I ain't mad. At all. I jus' got a strange feelin' that we were bein' watched. But nothin' for you to worry 'bout. Everythin'll be fixed soon."

Blue only relaxed when Red kissed his lips, and he felt his worries die away, easily melting into their bed.

Despite only being together for today, Blue didn't feel like they were moving fast.

Hell, it felt natural. 

Maybe it was because they had been the closest of friends for so long, or maybe because they didn't have much time before the real work of building a colony began. 

Blue couldn't wait for the day that he would be addressed as Jaime, the day he and Bart would be able to love without being confined in a ship.

It made a special kind of joy rise up in him.  
"Now, we have 'nother big day 'morrow. Let's get us some sleep, yeah?"

Red murmured, and Blue happily sighed, curling into his lover as his eyes started to droop, his brain already crafting a dream of sweet peace and tranquility, he and Red running through fields of flowers as they raced.


	3. Chapter Three

"Pink– Pink's dead?!"

Blue whimpered, and he felt Red press against him, the smaller crewmate stock-still, probably trying to stay strong.

Blue could understand. 

It was understood, before they decided to act on their feelings, that Red and Pink were assigned to each other.

And according to the rest of their team, that was understood as well.

They hadn't had the chance to tell anyone yet that they were together.

The rest of their team was crowded around, White looking deeply disturbed as she started speaking.

"I– I found her body in O2. We– we followed the blood trails, and it looked like– like someone had killed her before dragging her through the vent in her room all the way to O2. The cause of death seems to be a bullet, but– there aren't any guns on ship. We think the Imposter did this."

Silence filled the room.

"Who was in O2 yesterday?"

Blue trembled as he and Red raised their hands, Purple following, and then Black and Brown sighed, shaking their heads.

"Who had a task in O2 yesterday?"  
This time, Red's hand fell, and everyone stared at Purple.

"Purple, were you alone in O2 yesterday?"

"Y-Yes, but– but in the morning. Blue and Red came in after, and then Pink peeked in on them before moving on. But I don't think they even noticed her because she was moving pretty fast. I– I didn't see her again after that."

The cafeteria went silent, and Brown turned to him, making him freeze.

"Blue, did you notice?"

"No. I– I didn't even know she was there. Red and I were–"

"We didn' see har. Blue was doin' his task and I was watchin' him."

Red interrupted, eyes locked onto White's, and the crewmate froze, her eyes widening as Orange started to speak from where he was on Red's empty side.

"White's the Imposter. How else would've she found the body so early? Why would she find the body and not tell us like she did Green and Brown?"

"Now hold on, Orange. That doesn'–"

"And how did White see her walk past Red and Blue in O2 when she was supposed to be doing other tasks?"

Silence. 

Brown finally sighed, shaking his head.

"Who all thinks that White killed Pink?"

"C'mon, guys! I'd never– That's insane! It's probably Red, he– he shouldn't–"

It was too late. 

If there was one thing that Blue knew, it was that majority always ruled. 

White hadn't gone silently, instead kicking and screaming the whole while as she was dragged to the garbage chute and ejected, and they all respectfully turned their eyes as she suffocated in the cold vacuum of space. 

There was no funeral service; why would you hold a funeral for a monster?

Blue hadn't cried until he was back in his and Red's room, Red quietly hushing him and petting his hair.

"I'm sorry, Red. I'm so sorry. I– I know that you loved her in her own way, she was assigned to you, and–"

"Don' be silly; I love you, not her. Never her."

"D-Do you think it's done? Th-That we got the Imposter?"

"Blue, dear, I already told yah; there ain't no imposters."

Ten days later, Cyan's body was found in the vent.

Cyan had actually been dead for five days, but her body had only been discovered those extra days later by Purple. 

Brown said that if Purple hadn't found her, the the whole ship would've smelled like rot. 

It shook Blue to his core.

No one had been ejected that day, other than Cyan's corpse.

But, as they were supposed to, they kept calm and continued their tasks, though the workload was heavier.

The only thing that was good about this was that he and Red had grown even closer, taking off their helmets whenever they were alone and kissing feverishly like this was their last goodbye.

Blue was terrified that it would be, but Red was as cool as ever, always shushing him whenever he was too anxious and rubbing his back to relieve him of his stress before they slept.

And Red had also started to calm him down in other ways, not scared to go down on him whenever they were alone, too. 

There was a special beauty in his lover's body, in those few minutes where they were Bart and Jaime rather than Red and Blue, and it made him antsy in the best way every time he saw even the slightest glimpse of Red's skin. 

It scared him how much he loved his Red. 

The weeks following filled Blue with hope, hope that the Imposter had somehow disappeared, that they were safe.

"Bart?"

Blue murmured, and the smaller crewmate just twisted, nuzzling into his lap.

For once, they were dressed in casual clothes, their suits hung up as they were experiencing a rare day off, the rest of the crew relaxing as the days of peace stretched on. 

Blue had never been more happy than he was at this moment, Red napping on him and making cute little purrs like a cat.

None of them had seen a cat in years, let alone their families, though Red wasn't missing much in that department; he had too many family members to even know who they were and had never met his parents.

But Blue hadn't seen his parents or sister in years.

He wondered if they were okay. 

He bet that they were, as by being a crewmate, they were being given a hefty sum of money, enough to be more than comfortable for the rest of their days. 

It made him smile.

"Bart, c'mon, scoot over."

Blue whispered, rubbing his finger's through his lover's curls, and he reminded himself to later cut it, as it was getting too hard to brush. 

Red didn't respond, instead huffing and nuzzling his thigh, and Blue gently adjusted his lover so that he was laying on their bed, taking it upon himself to be the big spoon.

Red didn't like feeling small despite being shorter, trying to keep up the illusion of being the suave, charismatic man from the Deep South despite being a sensible —sensible, not sensitive— individual that hated even thinking of being seen as weak, a byproduct of training to be a crewmate from a tragically young age.

Blue wrapped an arm around Red's hips, pressing his hand against his stomach and petting his skin, sneaking his hand under Red's shirt to feel the warm skin of his lover's belly, and he sighed happily, rubbing the soft dips of Red's David Lines.

If Blue died right here, wrapped around his lover, he would die happily. 

Blue grimaced at the thought, burying his face into Red's slim shoulder, the sleeping boy giving a low, questioning noise before he turned, squirming his face into his chest and dropping a leg over his own. 

"C'n hear yah thinkin'...mmmm...so warm."

Blue laughed, and he tugged Red in close, pressing a little kiss to his lover's nose.

"Well, I'm glad I'm warm. Are you waking up, or just shifting?"

"'M up, jus'...jus' restin'."

"Alright, amor. You rest then. You've been having trouble sleeping."

"Mmm."

"I'm serious, Bart. You should sleep. You can't just brush off these nightmares and expect for them to go away. Your eye bags are practically purple."

Blue added, and Red huffed, relaxing back into him.

Recently, Red had started getting night terrors, and though nightmares were never new, Blue had never seen him go through a night terror.

They had started after Pink's death, and it was to the point that Blue would have to forcefully wake Red up, the small boy thrashing and kicking out, hands clutching his throat like he couldn't breathe.

It was terrifying and they messed Blue up, his heart unable to stand it as his lover suffered.

"I know. Don' worry, Jaime. Really. I'll be all nice an' rested up soon."

Blue smiled, and he kissed Red's forehead, soothing a hand down the smaller crewmate's side. 

"Alright. You better be, amor. Don't want you getting sick."

"I won' get sick; I've so many vaccines that 's a miracle mah immune system doesn' kill off any good bacteria."

Red reminded him, and Blue scoffed, pressing a smooch against Red's pretty, bow lips. 

"Now go to bed; I'll do your tasks tomorrow if you don't wake up in time, alright?"

"Alright."


	4. Chapter Four

Blue grimaced as Red chowed down on the bland food that the cafeteria supplied, and he shook his head, rubbing his leg against Red's own from where they were sitting next to each other on their side of the round table.

"Jeez, Red. How can you eat that, ¿boludo?"

Orange teased, and Blue laughed as Red shook his head like a dog towards Orange, sticking his tongue out.

"'S my fav'rite flavor o' slop, whaddaya mean?"

Whenever they ate, they still wore their suits, but they could take off their helmets and gloves to eat.

Everyone was still somewhat wary, but of course, Red always calmed them down with his playfulness, Orange easily following.

Blue remembered a time where he was jealous of Orange and Red's budding friendship, but now that he had Red —beautiful, loyal Red— he was completely confident in Red's fidelity. 

Red would never leave him for another lover, of that he was sure.

"'S gettin' real hot in here."

Red murmured to him, turning his head away from their crew to almost-mumble into his neck, and Blue blinked, not understanding what he meant.

Was Red horny, or did he need a breather?

"What do you mean?"

Blue asked his lover, and Red shook his head, standing up. 

"I need ta get m'fan from my room; I think my suit's is busted. Anyone wanna come with?"

Black eagerly raised his hand, always one to want some space, and Blue watched as Red left, squeezing his shoulder in goodbye before heading off with Black, chatting loudly to the taller crewmate as they disappeared down the corridor, the laugh that Blue loved so much drifting away.

Blue sighed, turning back to the shit they called food, and he poked at it before looking up at Brown.

"How much longer until we get to a refuel ship? I wanna pick up some actual food."

Blue complained, and Lime nudged him, the younger crewmate grinning childishly.

"Oh come on, Blue! It's not that bad; just add some pepper! Green knows how to add it just right."

Lime gestured to Green, his older sister, and Blue politely shook his head, standing up from his seat.

"No thanks. I'm good, thank you though. I'm just gonna check up on Red–"

"Hey, guys!"

Blue relaxed as Red skipped over, nodding at them happily.

"Got m'new fan in. Black said he was grabbin' somethin' from his room."

Suddenly, Blue got the feeling that something was wrong.

Red sat down next to him, smiling, and Blue shoved his food back over to him, letting Red pet his back before he started to eat again.

"Anyways, where were we?"

Blue shook his head before he grinned, nodding to Green and Lime, easily settling his own hand on top of Red's, grateful that no one could see it and inevitably tease them about it.  
But...he and Red had never told their crew of their relationship, which puzzled him, but he understood.

Red may still be raw from Pink's death, just like how he was still mourning, though barely at all, White's.

He had been, after all, assigned to her.

But she had been ejected.

And therefore, she didn't matter, sad as it was.

It made him still feel guilty, the fact that she wasn't the Imposter because Cyan had died after, but the guilt kept of leaving, bit by bit, every time Red smiled at him.

Blue shook himself from his thoughts before he answered, laughing.

"He said that Green says that you can put pepper on that stuff."  
"Gross. Th' fake pepper's disgustin'!"


	5. Chapter Five

Black did not come back from his room, and his blood was found, like all the others, in a vent. 

This time, Black had been dragged farther than anyone else had been before.

Hell, he technically wasn't even inside of the Skeld. 

He had been dragged all the way through the vents and to one of the garbage chutes, where he had been stuffed in.

For the first time in weeks, an Emergency Meeting took place, Red being the prime suspect.

Red had defended himself valiantly, claiming that he and Black had split up, and Blue defended him, too, knowing that his lover would never do such a thing.

Red was too good to be a mindless murder, and besides, Blue had seen enough of him, had been inside of him, enough times to know that Red was all human and not an Imposter. 

In the end, no one was ejected, but everyone's worries had only grown with each passing day.

There were only eight members left of their crew, which was, all things considering, a pretty good number despite how long they had been traveling with an Imposter.

Red still claimed that there was no Imposter, though, but whenever Blue asked him who was killing all their friends instead of the Imposter, Red always went silent and seemed to drift very far away.

It scared him sometimes, but he dismissed it as another one of Red's quirks, the smaller boy's brain always working at a speed that awed him every time, probably trying to puzzle it over himself.

It made him want to sigh.

So he did.

Blue quietly sighed, rubbing Red's back as the smaller crewmate messily kissed at his clothed chest, the both of them sweaty and exhausted from the day and tangled up in the sheets of their bed, so tired that they had just taken off their suits and put on their normal clothes before they slumped into bed together.

Hell, at this point, they were too tired to sleep.  
Blue had taken off his shirt, trying to stave off the never-ending heat of their room, while Red was comfortably dressed in layers as the heater chugged along at full blast.

Red was so small that he easily got cold, having barely any body fat to protect him from the elements.

It made Blue want to wrap him up in blankets and smother him with kisses until he warmed up.

"Wanna do somethin'? Pass th' time? Ah could pull out one-a th' old TVs, put us on a movie?"

Red murmured against his chest, and Blue tiredly sighed, shaking his head.

"No, I don't want to be kept awake by the lights."

The room was completely dark other than their lamp's soft glow, and Blue breathed out a careful breath as the soft orange light washed over what little there was of Red's exposed skin, his curls soft and his eyes reminding him of honey rather than the usual electric gold they were.

It made Blue feel, not for the first time, soft. 

And it was that very same softness that made him gently move his hand up to cup Red's cheek, that softness that made him press his lips to his lover's, that softness that made him hum before he turned off the lamp, that same softness that made him descend onto his beautiful Red in a way that promised something sweeter than honey. 

It was that softness that made him relax completely into the dark of their room where no Imposters would harm them, not as long as his hands were twisted with Red's and he was pressing forward, the only thing driving him forth being the gasps of his lover as he rocked forward, his face hidden in the crook of Red's neck to press soft kisses, small hands steadying his hips to ground him as they tried to get even closer to each other, soft murmurs of sweet affections in his favorite accent filling his ears.

It was only here, in their bed, where they were completely barer to each other, where they were at their most vulnerable moment, and yet their safest.

Here, as Blue liked to say to himself, everything was beautiful and nothing hurt. 

Here, he was one with Red, arms wrapped around each other and legs tangled together as they breathed softness into one another.

To Blue, it felt like sanctuary, an oasis in the desert, a place to rest and to find peace.

To Red, the glowing water was nothing but a mirage, an empty promise of that sanctuary.


	6. Chapter Six

It only took a week for Blue to wish that he had never let his guard down.

Purple's and Yellow's bodies were found in their shared room, for once not being pulled through a vent, but the way their bodies were positioned was extremely disturbing.

The both of them were stripped naked and thrown on top of each other on one of the bed, a horrible mimicry of the softness Blue often found in Red. 

Blue could still remember the anguish in Brown's eyes as he fell to his knees, the last of his close friends dead, agony painted on his face as he held the bloody bodies of his friends close.

Again, like all of the others, there were holes in their bodies.

Whether it was from the infamous tentacles of an Imposter or from some sort of weapon, no one knew.

And no one found out, because three days later, Brown's body was found in his own bed.  
It wasn't because of an Imposter, but rather a suicide, one of the few guns stored on the Skeld clutched in his hands.

He hadn't been able to handle the loss.  
Blue felt like he wasn't handling it either.  
In just a week, three of their crew were dead, only five members left. 

A skeleton crew, compared to the twelve they had set out with. 

It made him ache. 

"C'mon, let's go get somethin' in us. You haven't eaten 'n hours, baby."

Blue tiredly looked up from where he was going over the security footage, trying to see what had happened to all of the crewmates, who was the Imposter, but all the data was wiped.

The only person with the clearance to do that was Red and Brown, as their family had been part of the League for generations upon generations and therefore had the most access to the ship, and everyone had silently agreed that Brown had to have been the Imposter, but was controlled against his will by the Imposter, thus leading him to end his own life in order to stop what they hypothesized was the Imposter parasite. 

Brown's funeral had been a somber affair, just like the others. 

And, due to the small number of people left to pay their final respects and goodbyes, short. 

Brown was then ejected in order to stop his corpse from stinking up the ship, five pairs of tired eyes watching as he slowly drifted away.

For the first time in months, Blue let himself   
believe that he was completely safe, that the Imposter was dead and that Brown was a tragic hero, that he had sacrificed himself in order to save what was left of their ship.

But he couldn't even pretend for long, already knowing that it wasn't yet over for him and his small crew.

And so after Red suggested it, the rest of their crew drank and sang and danced, using up what was left of their alcohol to celebrate. 

It was beautiful and loud and perfect. 

Blue was happier here than he had been all week, Red's hands supporting him as they stumbled around and laughed and cried with joy, the lights dizzily spinning around as they spun, too.

He had never felt more alive, Red keeping him grounded as they celebrated the lives of their crew. 

Eventually, though, like all good things, it came to an end, though Blue could tell that things were somehow reaching an epic climax.

After a while, Red had told everyone that Blue was too drunk to continue, and Blue had been helped back to bed, Red gently petting him to sleep despite the sudden tenseness in his shoulders.

"R'd?"

Blue slurred, dazedly cupping his lover's cheeks, and Red leaned into his touch, eyes squeezing shut as a lone tear streamed down his face.

"'M sorry, Blue."

"W-Wait, you aren't...you aren't drunk?"

Despite Red's drawl, Blue could tell that Red was sober, as his accent was already very slurred, and he looked into his lover's eyes, confused.

"Why– why aren't you drunk?"

"'M sorry. I know that things are confusin' and don't make a lotta sense ri' now, but it'll be better when yah wake up. Go sleep off that drink for meh, yeah?"

Blue shook his head, whining, but soft lips against his forehead made him quiet with a snuffle, Red drawing the covers up around him.

"'S okay, I'll rub yah to sleep."

Blue hesitantly nodded, puzzled at how strange Red was suddenly acting, but he dismissed it as Red being tired.

Even though Red wasn't drunk, even though getting wasted was his idea, he had still danced without liquid fire keeping him energized.   
Blue's eyes slipped closed as Red gently rubbed his belly, whispering sweet nothings quietly, and he drifted off to the soft murmurs of his lover's voice, the wrongness in him getting squashed down by his exhaustion and the drink.


	7. Chapter Seven

Blue shot up in bed, his eyes wide as the sudden sound of a gunshot echoed through his ears, and he shakily stood, his hangover making his head pound.

But that didn't matter, because that gunshot was quickly followed by screaming.

Blue could feel it, that whatever was happening was the climax of their struggle, that the Imposter was not dead and that he was killing one of the five members of their crew that was left.

He stumbled on shaky legs as he made his way to Electrical, and he opened the doors, his eyes widening at the sight of his lover holding a gun.

"BART?!"

It seemed like time itself had stopped, or at least slowed, because it seemed to take forever for Blue's head to turn from where Red and Orange were both holding guns to where Green was dead on the floor, Lime sobbing as he held his older sister tightly.

He could see the blankness in Green's eyes, the panic in Lime's and the hot fury on Orange's face.

But what scared him was that Red's face was blank.

There was no emotion of his favorite face.

And then time sped up impossibly fast.

"Jaime! Stop, it's alright!"

Suddenly, Blue was wrapped in deceptively strong arms, Red's gun clattering to the ground, and he uselessly struggled, watching as Orange trained a gun on Lime, the small boy crying pitifully as he held his sister's corpse. 

"LET ME GO!"

"I can't do that, Jaime. I'm sorry, but everything I've been doing is to protect you."

And suddenly, it clicked.

Red– Red was the Imposter...but...not?

He had killed their crew, almost all of them, and Orange was pointing a gun at Lime and Blue couldn't breathe, he couldn't, and Red was holding him tightly, and Lime was crying, and he– he couldn't–

"It's alright, Jaime. It's okay. I know that you're scared, but don't worry; soon we'll be safe. We're going to kill Lime and then we'll be safe, alright? No more accusations, no more conspiring. We'll be safe from them."

His eyes were locked onto Lime's fear filled ones, and he watched as Red sighed, holding him tightly as Lime's sobs filled the air.

"I know that you don't understand, but I'm protecting you. They were trying to kill us, kill you, and I couldn't have that."

"W-What?"

"Jaime, dear, why do yah think the garbage chute is big 'nough ta hold a person?"

"So that we can eject Imposters–"

"There ain't no Imposter, Jaime. Think, hun. We both know that the League didn' call that alert."

Blue couldn't breathe, and he watched Lime guiltily looked away, tears streaming down faster as Orange looked back at them.

"Bart, hurry up with the monologue. I don't want him to call for help outside of the Skeld."

Orange husked, and Blue only just noticed that all of them were helmet-less, their bare faces peering around at each other as Lime trembled.

"P-Please, I'm sorry, we had no choice! It was protocol, and we–"

"Shut up, Gar. You know why we're going to kill you, bruto. I'd shut your trap if I were you."

Orange barked, and Red looked up, shaking his head.

"Eddie, stay calm. It'll be o'er soon; we can't have the last member of our new crew panickin'. He don't know about the protocol."

"W-what's happening?!"

"Jaime, dear, why do yah think they called that meetin' on us? All those months ago, before we kissed? When we were all up an' close-like?"

Blue shakily nodded, though the panic didn't ebb away.

Instead he was even more distraught, hyperventilating uselessly as he tried to pry himself free from Red's hands, but the smaller man didn't let go, holding him tightly. 

"They knew that we were fancyin' each other before we even acted up-on it. I would've known first, before Brown, 'f there was an Imposter, an' I never received an alert. Jaime, we were all set up. They were targeting yah, Eddie, an' meh."

"B-But why?"

"How are same-sex relationships useful to colonization? We don' reproduce, and therefore we're useless. And why would yah waste resources on useless people?"

Blue sobbed, shaking his head, and he watched as Red sighed, looking at Orange.

"Shoot 'im in self-defense."

Blue didn't even hear the bang, just saw Gar's guts spill as Orange's shoulders squared. 

His ears were ringing and his vision was going blurry, and then he was vomiting, both from the sight and the hangover, and Red was holding his hair back as he retched, Orange quietly watching. 

"'S alright, Jaime. They're all dead now, see, and we're safe, alright? 'm sorry for all o' the hidin'; I couldn' let them know that yah would've known. They accused me of being an Imposter twice; if yah were accused, I don' know what I'd do with myself. I know that yah scared, but 's alright."

Red's voice tried to soothe him, but Blue with still shaking, his retches dying down as Red rubbed his belly. 

"'S alright, Jaime. 'S okay. I've got yah, hun. You're safe now. I've got yah."


	8. Chapter Eight: Bart

Bart didn't regret it one bit. 

Killing his crew, he means.

And he didn't regret falling in love with Jaime, either.

Because as the days went on and as he and Orange teamed up in order to have one last shot at self-preservation, it was easier to forget that he was a crewmate and to just be Bart. 

He didn't want to be Red, didn't want to feed into the propaganda the League, not just the JAW, fed every crewmate, except for the ones they've already deemed queer. 

Jaime was one of the ones that were kept innocent, only to be slaughtered like a lamb.  
Target practice.

Bart– he couldn't have that.

He couldn't let the one good thing that had happened to him die.

He told Eduardo that he couldn't let him have blood in his hands, and Eduardo had quietly let him do the deeds, the rest of their crew pretending to be oblivious. 

It was rare that a queer fought back from being ejected, but Bart had been fighting his whole life, his childhood a blur or training and lessons and constantly fighting his thousands of brothers and sisters for ranking, and he knew how to fight. 

How to shoot a gun and how to successfully surprise his crew.

Dragging the bodies into the vents was necessary, as it had lent itself to the surprise factor he had created.

No one would expect a crewmate to act like an Imposter, and Eddie had eagerly helped, the older boy wanting to prove his worth, though Bart made sure he didn't kill anyone until it was too late for the rest of the crew.

Bart suspected that his willingness was due to the lingering feelings they still had for each other from the very beginnings of their journey, months before the fake Imposter alert was sent out, when they had flirted and kissed peckishly, both confused on what love meant, on why they were so attracted to each other even though they had been taught their entire lives that they were wrong.

But if they were wrong, then why did it feel so right?

In the end, they had separated due to the fact that Eduardo was too afraid that he would be caught, and Bart had respected that, and had instead started wooing Jaime, his beloved Blue.  
Jaime had been a replacement for Eddie, up until he wasn't. 

Bart had found himself genuinely falling for his best friend, and then– then they had kissed and it had all gone to hell.

He felt guilty for essentially making himself into a serial killer, crafting the most vile of trades, but he didn't regret it.

Not one bit.

Because as long as Jaime was safe, as long as he could laugh and play and kiss him and still have that spark in his eyes, Bart was happy.   
He would do anything to make Jaime happy.  
And, to some point, he had already done everything he could to keep his beautiful Blue safe.


	9. Chapter Nine: End

The rest was a blur to Blue.

One minute, Red was helping Orange eject Green and Lime's bodies, and then they were all in Navigation, slowly heaving the Skeld off its course as Red's fingers blurred away on a keyboard, asking for commands that Blue didn't even know exist. 

Then again, Red did outrank them all, though ranks didn't matter as much on a ship with only twelve, now three, people.

"How much longer, Bart?"

Orange broke the silence, and Blue started to silently cry again, because every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was Red pointing that gun at Lime. 

Red had quietly explained everything to him after Blue had had to be led out of the room, had told him how the crew had been lying, how they had been trying to use them as a scapegoat and eventually leave them to suffocate in space because of who they loved, because they had gotten too close to each other before they had even kissed, how Red had had to kill their crew in order to protect him and Orange. 

Blue still couldn't believe that Red had killed people, though.

That he was sitting in a room with two murderers. 

Red claimed that he did it to protect him, to survive, but why would you ever kill anyone?

That was past survival, that was...that was insanity.

And yet, he still loved Red more than anything else in the world. 

He turned his head to the massive windows; watching as space danced around them, and he whimpered, his tears salty on his cheeks.

He had never felt more conflicted in his life.

"About another two days, Eddie; I'd start gettin' comfortable now if I were yah."

Red and Orange always called each other by their real names, but at this point, Blue felt so disconnected from Jaime that he didn't know what to do.

He life had been shattered, and now...now he had no idea what to do, for once. 

"Jaime, baby, are you alright?"

Red was kneeling in front of him, holding some water, and Blue turned his face, unable to look his lover in the eyes. 

"I know, Jaime. I'm so sorry, but I couldn't have them hurt you. I know that you would do the same for me, right?"

Blue didn't respond, and Red sighed, shaking his head.

"Don't worry, baby; soon yah'll see tha' everythin' that we knew was a lie."

The first time, Blue didn't want to respond, but now he couldn't, unable to form words as Red stood up and looked over at Orange, sighing again.

But this sigh was sadder.

"Eduardo, shoot 'im. Ah can't watch 'im cry."  
Blue frantically looked up as Red turned away from him, his shoulders trembling, unable to watch him panic.

"Thought we were in love, baby."

And then Jaime's world was narrowed down to the bang of a gun and darkness.


End file.
